Forums

What subject most intrigues young high ability learners? What subject is
still rated highly by middle school academically talented
learners? Interestingly, the answer is science even though it is taught
less frequently than any other subject prior to middle school.
Clearly, we need to ensure that appropriate curriculum is in place for
such students from K-12. In a time of curriculum reform and a
national goal of becoming Number One in the world by the year 2000,
movement on this issue should be compelling to all educators.

Science Reform Recommendations

Based on reports over the past 12 years, it is clear that students have
not been achieving well in science (National Commission on
Excellence in Education, 1983), advanced courses have been poorly
subscribed to or not offered by many secondary schools (National
Science Board, 1983; Bybee, 1993), and girls and minority students have
been dropping out of the science track as early as possible
(Hilton, Hsia, Solorzano, & Benton, 1989). On the instructional side of
science, it has become evident that elementary teachers were
not teaching science because they did not know the content nor feel
secure with it as a subject area (Rutherford & Ahlgren, 1989); little
instructional time in elementary schools was devoted to science (NAEP,
1988); and where science was taught, basal texts that
emphasized reading and canned experiments were preferred and used over
active learning (Lockwood, 1992a; 1992b).

In order to address the problems of science teaching and learning, key
national groups including scientists and science educators
collaborated on a set of science concepts and processes deemed essential
for K-12 learners to understand and master (Rutherford &
Ahlgren, 1989). Other groups such as the National Science Foundation, the
National Academy of the Sciences, and the National
Science Teachers Association have responded through the development of
teacher enhancement programs and curriculum development
recommendations. Project 2061 (1993) has published benchmarks of science
literacy goals that concentrate on a common core of
learning. More recently, the National Research Council (1996) has also
published a set of national science standards. In this climate of
education reform, the role of exemplary curriculum becomes a primary
consideration in the attempt to improve both gifted and science
education.

Research on Gifted Learners in Science

The research literature also contains many ideas for improving science
education. The Third International Math and Science Study
(TIMSS), which ranks the United States in the top half of participating
nations at grades 4 and 8, suggests that more instructional time
on experimental science activities would be useful, as would a focus on
correcting misconceptions in science learning (U.S.
Department of Education, 1996).

Moreover, opportunities for earlier access to advanced content need to be
available to gifted students in science. Cross and Coleman
(1992) conducted a survey of gifted high school students, finding that
their major complaint about science instruction was the
frustration of being held back by the pace and content of courses. In a
6-year study of middle school age gifted learners taking biology,
chemistry, or physics in a 3-week summer program, these younger learners
outperformed high school students taking these courses
for a full academic year (Lynch, 1992). Follow-up studies documented
continued success in science for these students, suggesting a
need for academically advanced students to start high school science
level courses earlier and be able to master them in less time.
Evidence also suggests that advanced study in instructionally grouped
settings based on science aptitudes promotes more learning for
all students (Hacker & Rowe, 1993).

Data from several summer Governor's School programs in science have
demonstrated the positive impact of such programs on
students' continuing with the scientific enterprise in college (Enersen,
1994). The major impacts from the experience appeared to center
around the collaborative opportunities to work with talented faculty and
a highly able peer group. Such reports point to a continued
need to provide and structure collaborative opportunities for these
learners.

Recent work in using problem-based learning in teaching science to high
ability learners at the elementary level suggests the efficacy of
the approach in enhancing student and teacher motivation
(VanTassel-Baska, Bass, Ries, Poland, & Avery, 1998); in improving
problem-finding abilities (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992); and in
promoting intra and interdisciplinary learning (Stepien,
Gallagher, & Workman, 1993). Recent studies have also identified the
materials that are most appropriate for use with high ability
students in elementary science programs (Johnson, Boyce, &
VanTassel-Baska, 1995), citing those that provide a balance of content
and process considerations, including an emphasis on original student
investigations, concept development, and interdisciplinary
applications. Other studies suggest the importance of science mentors and
more emphasis on laboratory-based science as central tenets
of providing high-end learning opportunities in science at all levels.

What Should a Science Curriculum for Gifted Students Include?

At the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary,
the past six years have been spent addressing issues of
appropriate science curriculum and instruction for high ability students
as well as melding those ideas to the template of curriculum
reform for all students in science. Consequently, the elements essential
for high ability learners also have saliency for other learners as
well. The most important include the following elements.

An emphasis on learning concepts.

By restructuring science curriculum to emphasize those ideas deemed most
appropriate for students to know and grounded in the view
of the disciplines held by practicing scientists, we allow students to
learn at deeper levels the fundamental ideas central to
understanding and doing science in the real world. Concepts such as
systems, change, reductionism, and scale all provide an important
scaffold for learning about the core ideas of science that do not change,
although the specific applications taught about them may.

An emphasis on higher-level thinking.

Students need to learn about important science concepts and also to
manipulate those concepts in complex ways. Having students
analyze the relationship between real world problems, like an acid spill
on the highway, and the implications of that incident for
understanding science and for seeing the connections between science and
society provides opportunities for both critical and creative
thinking within a problem-based episode.

An emphasis on inquiry, especially problem-based learning.

The more that students can construct their understanding about science
for themselves, the better able they will be to encounter new
situations and apply appropriate scientific processes to them. Through
guided questions by the teacher, collaborative dialogue and
discussion with peers, and individual exploration of key questions,
students can grow in the development of valuable habits of mind
found among scientists, such as skepticism, objectivity, and curiosity
(VanTassel-Baska, Gallagher, Bailey, & Sher, 1993).

An emphasis on the use of technology as a learning tool.

The use of technology to teach science offers some exciting possibilities
for connecting students to real world opportunities. Access to
the world of scientific papers through CD-ROM databases offers new
avenues for exploration. Internet access provides teachers
wonderful connections to well-constructed units of study in science as
well as ideas for teaching key concepts, and e-mail allows
students to communicate directly with scientists and other students
around the world on questions related to their research projects.

An emphasis on learning the scientific process, using experimental
design procedures.

One of the realities we have uncovered is how little students know about
experimental design and its related processes. Typically, basal
texts will offer canned experiments where students follow the steps to a
preordained conclusion. Rarely are they encouraged to design
their own experiments. Such original work in science would require them
to read and discuss a particular topic of interest, come up
with a problem about that topic to be tested, and then follow through in
a reiterative fashion with appropriate procedures, further
discussion, a reanalysis of the problem, and communication of findings to
a relevant audience.

What Can Teachers Do to Make These Reform Efforts Successful?

In order to ensure that science reform is successful, administrators,
teachers, and parents need to consider the following approaches to
help the reform effort succeed.

The selection of modular materials rather than basals for classroom
use.

There are excellent science materials available that will promote the
teaching described here (Johnson, Boyce, & VanTassel-Baska,
1995). However, districts must be willing to use such materials rather
than insisting on the purchase of basals which do little to
promote the desired kind of science learning. Moreover, there are
excellent supplementary materials also attuned to the new science
agenda that can augment any school science program.

The training of teachers in content-based pedagogy.

If we wish to improve teaching and focus on student learning, then
teachers need help in teaching for understanding (Cohen,
McLaughlin, & Talbert, 1993). In order to do that, we need to emphasize
strategies and instructional approaches in the context of
content rather than separate from it. One good way to approach such
training is to use high-quality materials as the basis for the training
sessions to ensure the integration of content and pedagogy. Skills needed
then by teachers of high ability learners in science include
strong content knowledge and skills in teaching it, flexibility in
classroom management, and the capacity to question student
understanding through metacognitive and assessment techniques.

The employment of curriculum monitoring processes in schools.

No matter what new emphasis schools wish to see implemented, there is a
need to ensure that the innovation has been implemented
faithfully. Where that is not happening, suitable measures may be
employed to ensure that such change will occur in the future.
Research on staff development as well as effective teaching demonstrates
the need to provide systematic follow-up procedures to
ensure teacher action (Joyce & Showers, 1995). Whether such monitoring
occurs through peer coaching programs, supervisory
procedures of the principal, or curriculum specialists is not as
important as the fact that it occurs at all.

Conclusions

Appropriate science curriculum that promotes high quality learning is
desirable for all learners. Access to such learning is mandatory
for students demonstrating a strong yearning for substantive and
challenging science curriculum in schools. Teachers and
administrators alike need to recognize that gifted learners must be
challenged in their area of greatest interest and potential expertise.
The world can only benefit from motivating the future Marie Curies,
Booker T. Washingtons, and Michael Faradays.

Credits

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER. FOR MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

This
publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement, U. S. Department of Education,
under contract no. RR93002005. The opinions expressed in this report do
not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or
the Department of Education